Account-register.



Patented May 14,1912.

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A. F. STAPLES.

ACCOUNT REGISTER,

APPLICATION FILED MAY 1, 1911.

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oted or hinged at the bottom UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT F. STAPLES, 0F CANISTEO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR T0 SUPERIOR REGISTERCOMPANY, OF OANISTEO, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

ACCOUNT-REGISTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 1, 1911.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ALBERT F. STAPLES, acitizen of the United States, and resident of Canisteo, in the county ofSteuben and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Account- Registers, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to account-registers or filing-cabinets of thetype in which a plurality of frames are pivotally mounted at the bottomupon supports, these supports being located within a cabinet and beinangularly movable so as either to permit the frames to stand within thecabinet with their edges in alinement, or to raise the frames into aposition in which they may conveniently be swung from upright tohorizontal position and vice-versa. In such a device it has previouslybeen proposed to provide the cabinet with a front door pivand so connected with the frame-supports that the opening of the door causes thesupports to be raised for the purpose just described.

One object of the present invention is to produce a device of the kindin question in which novel and simple means are employed for operativelyconnecting the door and the frame-supports.

Another object of the invention is to provide for the automaticcounterbalancing of a part at least of the weight of the frames so as toassist the operation of raising the supports and the frames; and a thirdobject of the invention is to provide means for retaining the supportsin raised position, said means being operative automatically by themovement of the door.

To the foregoing end the invention consists in the account-registerhereinafter described, as it is defined in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a side-elevation of anaccount-register embodying the present invention, one side of thecabinet being removed to show the inte rior mechanism. In this figurethe accountregister is shown in inoperative position, with the cabinetclosed; Fig. 2 is a similar view, except that the account-register isshown in operative position; Fig. 3 is a partial front-elevation, on alarger scale, showing the door of the cabinet in section on the line 3-3in Fig. 4; and Fig. 4 is a section on the line H in Fig. 3.

The invention is illustrated as embodied in an account-register havingseven billholder frames, of which the general construction is familiarto those skilled in the art. Each of these frames comprises a flatsheet-metal body '5 upon which the billholding clips may be mounted, andstiffening strips 6 at the lateral edges are secured to both the frontand the back of the bodyportion in the usual manner. The bill holdingclips are not illustrated, as they may be of any ordinary or suitableform. The lower edge 7 of each bill-holder frame is doubled over tostiffen it, and at each lower corner of the frame a metal strap 8 isfastened, having its ends secured between the strips 6 and thebody-portion. Between its ends the strap 8 is bent into a loop whichconstitutes a pivot-bearing for the frame. The loops 8 are pivoted uponstuds 9 projecting inwardly from two frame-supports 10. These supportsare in the form of arms, which are ivoted, at their forward ends, uponpins 1 so that the frame-supports may occupy either horizontal orinclined positions.

The bill-holder frames and their supports are mounted within a cabinetwhich comprises a vertical back 11, a base 12, and two side-members 13.The cabinet is provided also with a front door 19, and with a top orcover 23, which closes the top of the cabinet when the account-registeris not in use.

The pivot-pins 17 upon which the frame-- supports 10 are mounted arefixed in U- shaped lugs 18 which are mounted at the forward corners ofthe bottom of the cabinet. The pivot-pins 17 serve also as pivotalconnections between the bottom of the cabinet and the door 19. The dooris provided at its lower corners with metal plates 20 pivoted upon thepins 17, so that the door may be swung from the position of Fig. 1 tothe position of Fig. 2 when the account-register is to be used. Inaddition to serving normally as a closure for the cabinet the doorperforms the further function of raising the frame-supports 10 when theaccount-register is to be used. For this purpose the plates 20 areprovided with rearwardly-projecting extremities or lugs 21, and thesupports 10 are provided with outward projections or lugs 22. When thedoor is swung forward and downward through approximately 90, the lugs21, after an idle movement of approximately e5 engage the lugs 22, sothat during the last part of the movement of the door the lugs 22 areswung upwardly and forwardly, thus raising the supports, throughapproximately 15, to the position of Fig. 2, in which position they areheld by means hereinafter described. By this movement the pivotal axesof the bill-holder frames are brought into an inclined plane, whichrenders it possible to swing theframes forwardly and downwardly to ahorizontal position in using the account-register. The raising of thesupports also causes the bill holder frames, particularly those at therear, to assume the slightly-inclined position of Fig. 2, a positionwhich is more convenient in the use of the device than a strictlyvertical position. lVhen the door is raised and closed the bill-holderframes and supports fall through the action of gravity, and the framesthus assume the more compact relation of Fig. 1, in which their edgesare substantially in alinement.

To insure the normal upright position of the bill-holder frames, andalso to assist their movement to this posit-ion from horizontalposition, springs are provided, as shown particularly in Fig. 3. Eachspring comprises a coiled portion 14: which is mounted upon theinwardly-projecting extremity of one of the pivot-studs 9. One end 15 ofthe spring is bent to engage a slot in the inner end of the stud, whilethe other end 16 0f the spring projects upwardly into engagement withthe front of the bill-holder frame. The end 16 is engaged by the end ofthe folded lower edge 7 of the body of the frame, and the spring is thusretained upon the pivot-stud. If one of the springs breaks and requiresrenewal, it may be easily disengaged and removed from the stud and a newone substituted without dismembering any portion of theaccount-register. Owing to the torsional effect of the springs upontheir pivot-studs they not only tend to hold the frames in uprightposition, but they also assist the upward swinging movement of theframe-supports 10, thus partially counterbalancing the weight of thesemembers and of the frames, so that the door may be more easily swungdownward, and its weight may be sufficient to maintain the parts inraised position. For additional security in this respect, however,catches may be employed to maintain the frame-supports in raisedposition. One of these catches is employed at each side of the cabinet,and as illustrated each catch consists of a resilient metal strip 30which is fixed, at one end, to the side of the cabinet. A. lug 32 on theupper edge of the strip 30 springs into engagement with the lower edgeofthe corresponding frame support 10 when the latter is in raisedposition. At the free end of the catch is a camshaped head 31, and whenthe door is swung either upwardly or downwardly the lug 21, in its firstmovement, engages this flange so as to swing the catch outwardly andpermit the support 10 to pass the lug 32.

The frame-supports 10 are connected, near their rear ends, by a rod 28to support them against lateral movement, and buffers 29, of rubber orother suitable material, are placed within the cabinet in position to beengaged by the supports when in horizontal posit-ion, so as to preventslamming in case the door 19 is quickly raised.

To close the top of the cabinet when the account-register is not in usea top or cover 23 is provided. This cover is connected with the door bymeans of links 24: pivoted to the respective parts. These linkspermitthe cover to be swung around to the position of Fig. 2 when the door isopened, thus providing a support for the free'end of the door,while'conveniently disposing of the top. When the door is closed thetopis swung back to the position of Fig. 1, and at this time a groove initsrear edge engages the rabbeted upper edge 25 of the back, while thecover is retained in position by means of a spring-catch 2 6 of ordinaryform engaging a knob 27 on the edge of the cover.

To facilitate transportation of the account-register a strap-handle 38is fixed to the cover, being mounted in a recess therein so as to permitthe cover to be folded be-' neat-h the door as in Fig. 2.

My invent-ion is notlimited to the embodiment thereof hereinbeforedescribed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, but may beembodied in Various other forms within the nature of the invention, asit is defined in the following claims.

I claim k p 1. An account-register having, in combination, a pluralityof bill-holder frames pivotally mounted at the bottom, a cabinet, inwhich the frames may stand in upright position, provided at the frontwith a door pivoted at the bottom, a support for the bottoms of theframes pivoted at its forward end, the support lying in substantiallyhori- Zontal position within the cabinet when the account-register isnot in use, and cooperating abutments on the door and the supportwhereby the support is swung upwardly when the door is swung downwardlyto open position, so as to raise the bottoms of the frames intoaninclined plane and permit the frames to be swung forwardly anddownwardly into substantially horizontal position upon the door. p

2. An account-register having, in combination, a plurality ofbill-holder frames pivotally mounted at the bottom, a cabinet in whichthe frames may stand in upright position, a support for the bottoms ofthe frames which lies in substantially horizontal position when theaccount-register is not in use, so as to support the frames with theiredges substantially in horizontal alinement, and springs connected withthe support and tending to raise it into inclined position so as tosupport the bottoms of the frames in an inclined plane.

3. An account-register having, in combination, a plurality ofbill-holder frames pivotally mounted at the bottom, means for sustainingthe frames normally in uprightposition, a support for the bottoms of theframes, said support being normally in horizontal position when theaccount-register is not in use but being movable into inclinedposit-ion, a catch for retaining the support in one of said positions,and a single means for moving the support to said position and foroperating the catch to release the sup- Copies of this patent may beobtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

port and permit it to move to the other of said positions.

4. An account-register having, in combination, a cabinet provided with afront door pivoted at the bottom, a frame-support piv- Eoted, at itsforward extremity, coaXially with the door, a plurality of bill-holderframes pivoted, at the bottom, on the framesupport and standing normallyupright in the cabinet, and a catch mounted in the cabinet and adaptedto retain the frame-support in raised, inclined position, the door beingprovided, adjacent its pivotal axis, with a lug adapted to engage andraise the frame-support when the door is moved to open position, and toengage the catch and disengage it from the frame-support when the dooris moved to closed position.

ALBERT F. STAPLES.

Witnesses:

FARNUM F. DORSEY, D. GURNEE.

Washington, D. G.

